joe polish

Relationships make a difference

books, life, relationships, Sales

When I was starting out in sales I read a book – What they don’t teach you in Harvard Business School. It was authored by Harvey McCormick. I was very impressed with the achievements that he mentioned in the book.

I have forgotten most of the book, but one sentence that has stayed with me has been – All things being equal people buy from friends, all things Not being equal they still still prefer to buy from friends.

That one statement keeps ringing in my mind from time to time. It has been a guiding statement whenever I interact with anyone.

I try to ensure that I make long term relationships by being straight and upfront in whatever interaction I have with people. Not only with prospects and customers but even with vendors and everyday people.

When you build these kind of relationships you can be sure that you can pick up the phone and call people when you want and they will also answer your phone. Also because you have dealt straight with these people you aren’t scared when connecting with them.

Its also similar to the philosophy of giving first that Joe Polish talks about. When people trust you and know that you will be transparent in your interactions, they are also open to interact

Does that mean that I have not been tricked and taken advantage of because of this philosophy, absolutely not. But the amount of times I have been duped is way smaller than the amount of times the relationships have helped.

My advice would always be to play the long game and build relationships which can last you a long long time.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

Compelling versus convincing

compelling, education, education, Marketing

The appreciation of the difference in the words Compelling & Convincing, and its implications in marketing was made possible due to Dean Jackson. I would highly recommend his podcasts Morecheeselesswhiskers.com and his podcast with Joe Polish, Ilovemarketing.com.

Whenever you place an argument in front of a person, even with all the data in the world and show them a conclusion, they will be resistive to it. If the conclusion is not drawn by the person herself, she will always try to find the “catch”. What is it that she’s missing.

On the other hand if you educate a person and logically lead them on a path, then the conclusion that they draw is their own and then they are compelled to look at you.

Look at Apple. They have well designed products no doubt. But look at the closed hierarchy of systems they have created. Every few months they have some global launch in which they showcase how the integration between their products and the newer technologies they are launching will make your life even more comfortable.

Till about 4 -5 years back we didn’t have a single Apple device, we now have 8. And my family members wait when a new item is getting launched. Apple does not try to convince them to buy, but they have got so strongly hooked into the Apple ecosystem, they will give you all the reasons why you should not buy anything else.

A person who is compelled to take action will be your customer for a long time because she has taken the decision based on the education you have given her.

So instead of trying to convince people to your point of view, give them the tools by educating them and compel them to take an informed decision.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem

Writer’s block – why I push my brain

Affirmative action, Energy, Fear, Human Brain, Risks

I have been writing a lot about why the human brain pushes us into states of anxiety, fear etc. Fundamentally as Steven Kotler says, the brain consumes more than 25% of all the body’s energy requirements and is designed to protect you, so tries to save energy for the day when it will be needed.

If you have noticed, over the last few months I’ve tried to ensure that I write a post everyday. One is because I realized a truth in what Joe Polish says that prolific makes proficient.

Each day however when I have to write, I keep coming up with all kinds of reasons why I should not write. You would have noticed I don’t have a huge vocabulary, as a matter of fact I only use the simplest of words. Most of the times I don’t have any fundamental research data. My posts are short which goes against the grain that blog posts need to be long to be considered “read” worthy. But I still write.

I have now realized that this resistance the brain throws up, that we call a Writer’s block is another way for the brain to conserve energy. By giving this resistance, or fear about the quality of the blog post, or the lack of enough data points, the brain is trying to dissuade me from writing. If I don’t write and give up, it will feel relaxed, because it now does not need to spend energy.

By not spending energy, its meeting its primary objective of saving my life, if the need arises. So now when I have to write my post, I don’t plan in advance, because then I find all kinds of reasons why my post will be useless. I rather sit down with my tablet or computer. Scan through my brain on what I had found interesting through the events of the day and then just type.

As I start taking affirmative action and get into flow, my brain also starts sending me data to incorporate into the post and before long, I have finished the post.

If you acknowledge the fear or resistance and just start doing things, it slowly melts away. Once the brain notices that there’s no threat, it also kind of starts supporting you in the endeavor and at the end of the activity you get a feeling of achievement like I do after write a blog post.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!

Every education has a price to be paid

coaching, education, training

In ancient times in India there was a concept of paying fees (dakshina) to the teacher (guru) after the education was over. It could be in terms of whatever the teacher wanted. Money as medium of exchange was not so prevalent in my opinion hence it was generally in kind and typically what the “guru” wanted. The teachers were reverred more than God because it was thought that the route to reach God would not be feasible without a good teacher.

Yesterday while I was listening to a show on ETNow a finance TV channel in India, there was one a very mature fund manager Samir Arora who was getting interviewed.

Through the interview he made a statement which suddenly caught my attention. While he was talking in terms of the financial markets in India, the statement is true for every field. Every education that you get has a price to be paid. In the financial markets, while I have read a lot of books and heard a lot of lectures, what you learn when you start playing the “game” is invaluable. I for example have learnt that I don’t have the psychology to trade even though I know most of the rules.

While there’s nothing better than getting a real life education, it can take a lot of time even though you may not be paying money but you will end up paying with your time.

That’s where experienced coaches can help, if they are in the field you’re wanting to take. That’s why I pay to join programs from Joe Polish and Jay Abraham and others. These kind of coaches can help speed up your learning process, so you save on time.

If you want to save time to get the experience faster, pay the fees to a coach, because you will have to pay for the education either in terms of money or in terms of time.

Till next time then.

Carpe Diem!!!